In recent years, metabolic diseases such as hyperlipidemia are increasing due to the increase of fat intake and lack of exercise by economic growth, a habit of overeating, and westernization in Korea.
Hyperlipidemia is not usually symptomatic in itself, but if a large amount of fatty substances is present in the blood, they may cling to the blood vessel wall and cause arteriosclerosis, which eventually may lead to coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, peripheral vascular occlusion, and the like (E. Falk et al., Circulation 92, 657-671, 1995). In addition, such excessive fatty substances as described above accumulate in the liver tissue, which may cause fatty liver.
On the other hand, as a method for decreasing a lipid concentration in blood, diet, exercise and drug therapies are recommended to suppress the intake of foods containing a lot of cholesterol and saturated fatty acids and reduce caloric intake. However, such diet and exercise therapies are difficult to manage and practice strictly, and their effects are often limited.
To date, statins, known as HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors and known to have a great effect in the treatment of hyperlipidemia, have been shown to reduce the production of cholesterol by controlling the rate determining step of a reaction through which cholesterol where HMG-CoA reductase acts during lipid metabolism is produced. However, a statin is a drug metabolized by hepatic p450dp, which can cause liver toxicity by inducing an interaction with numerous drugs, and can cause side effects such as digestive disorders, headaches, fatigue, muscle aches, joint pain, and the like.
Accordingly, research is being conducted on natural products which can prevent or treat hyperlipidemia, arteriosclerosis, and fatty liver by reducing an excessive lipid concentration in blood, and which are also safe for humans and have no side effects.
Korean Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2010-0089910 discloses a composition for preventing and treating hyperlipidemia, which comprises a mixed herbal medicine extract as an active ingredient.